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Andrews, Bongar, Starkey & Clagett: Waldorf, Maryland Attorneys

DUI and DWI : Keeping Your Drivers' License

In Maryland, Driving Under the Influence (DUI) or Driving While Intoxicated (DWI) are the two ways you can be charged with what is commonly known as drunk driving. Being charged with an alcohol related offense is a serious matter and can leave you with a permanent criminal record and a big black mark on your driving record. You can also lose your license to drive. This can have disastrous effects on your ability to get a security clearance or obtain and keep a job.

No one should attempt to handle a Driving Under the Influence (DUI) or Driving While Intoxicated (DWI) case on their own. You need a Maryland DUI lawyer or Maryland DWI lawyer to help you through this process. The fee you would pay a lawyer to assist you is minimal compared to the economic and other costs associated with a poorly handled DUI or DWI citation. Most importantly, a poorly handled defense could result in large fines and unnecessary jail time, and leave you with a criminal record that may have been avoided.

Please read both free legal information articles we have here regarding DWI and DUI charges. One explains the criminal process that will occur in Court. But that is only half the battle. The other article explains the process to save your drivers' license at the Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration (MVA). You have very tight time limits to request a hearing with the MVA and you should do so immediately. 

The Preliminary Breath Test (PBT)

If you are stopped for a Driving While Impaired (DWI) or Driving Under the Influence (DUI) offense, you will likely be asked to submit to a Preliminary Breath Test (PBT). You are not obligated to take the PBT and it is not admissible in evidence in any court action. If you refuse to take the test, however, your Maryland driver's license will be revoked 120 days for a first offense, and for one year for a subsequent offense.

The results of the PBT are used as a guide for the police officer in deciding whether an arrest should be made, and if so, should it be DWI or DUI. The results of the PBT may be used as evidence by a defendant in a court action. The taking of or refusal to submit to a PBT is not admissible in evidence in any court action. Evidence pertaining to a PBT may not be used in a civil action. Neither the taking or refusal to submit to a PBT will relieve you of the obligation to take the regular blood or breath test.

If the results of your PBT are 0.08 or higher, or if you refused to take the PBT, you are entitled to a hearing before the MVA. At the hearing, a Maryland administrative law judge (ALJ) will decide whether whether the MVA's proposed suspension is appropriate.

If you are arrested or ticketed for Driving Under the Influence (DUI) or Driving Under the Influence (DUI) your license will be confiscated by the police officer. You will then be given a 45-day temporary license which functions the same as your regular license, but only for 45 days. You cannot drive on your temporary license after it has expired. Doing so will subject you to the jailable offense of driving on a suspended license. If you have requested a hearing, however, you may get an extension of your temporary license from the Maryland MVA.

Suspension of Your Driver's License

The Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration has the right to suspend your Maryland driver's license if you are accused of Driving While Intoxicated (DWI) or Driving Under the Influence (DUI). Many people do not know that this is not part of the court process, but is decided in a separate administrative hearing before the Maryland MVA. So when charged in Maryland with Driving While Intoxicated (DWI) or Driving Under the Influence (DUI), you have to go through two separate proceedings to keep your license and stay out of jail.

The rules of the administrative hearing are different than those of the court. The length of your suspension depends on the amount of alcohol you had in your body when you were arrested, as measured by the preliminary breath test.

If your test result shows a blood alcohol content of at least 0.08 but less than 0.15, the suspension will be 45 days for a first offense and 90 days for a second or subsequent offense.

If your test result is a blood alcohol content of 0.15 or more, the suspension will be 90 days for a first offense and 180 days for a second or subsequent offense.

If you refuse to submit to the test, the suspension will be 120 days for a first offense and one (1) year for a second or subsequent offense.

These suspensions are separate and apart from any suspension or revocation that may result from the conviction in court of a Driving While Intoxicated (DWI) or Driving Under the Influence (DUI) criminal charge. Keep in mind these are two totally separate proceedings.

Maintaining Your Drivers License

Before you have to face a judge or jury on the charges that arise out of a traffic stop for drunk driving, you will have to request a hearing before the Motor Vehicle Administration or you will face the automatic loss of your Maryland drivers' license. You have thirty (30) days to request a hearing, but if you do not make your request within ten (10) days, your driver's license may be suspended prior to your hearing, therefore you want to make certain that your hearing request is made within ten (10) days from the date of your arrest. This is a very tight time deadline and you should act immediately or you may lose your license.

Your request must be made, in writing, through the headquarters of the MVA in Hunt Valley, Maryland. You must also enclose a filing fee. There is a form that the officer will give you at the time of your arrest which will enable you to get a hearing. It is on the reverse side of the Officer's Certification and Order of Suspension. You do not need to wait until you meet with an attorney to request the hearing. You can do it yourself and should do so if there is any chance you will miss that 10 day deadline. It is better to hire an attorney immediately and have the attorney do it. But if you cannot, then do it yourself.

As of this writing, the address to which the form is mailed is:

Office of Administrative Hearings
Motor Vehicle Administration
11101 Gilroy Road
Hunt Valley, Maryland 21031-1301

Check the Maryland MVA website to be sure that is still the right address. You must send a check along with your request. There is a $125 administrative fee which must be paid to the MVA at the time of your request. Make your check payable to Maryland State Treasurer. If you fail to include the fee, your hearing request will be denied.

If a hearing is requested within 10 days, and your Maryland driver's license was surrendered, a hearing will be scheduled within 30 days of the receipt of your request and your license will not be suspended before you appear for this scheduled hearing. If a hearing was requested between 11 and 30 days of the issuance of the Order of Suspension, a hearing will be scheduled within 45 days of the receipt of your request but the suspension still takes effect on the 46th day from the order of suspension. If you wish to be represented by an attorney, you should contact one immediately. But you can still request your hearing yourself. Do not delay your hearing request.

If you request a hearing before the MVA, your case will be heard by an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ). The ALJ is an employee of the State of Maryland, but is not employed by the MVA. The ALJ acts as a neutral fact finder in your Driving While Intoxicated (DWI) or Driving Under the Influence (DUI) charge administrative hearing.

The MVA holds hearings at various locations throughout the state. Where your hearing will be held depends on where you live. For the vast majority of our clients, hearings are at the Waldorf MVA full service branch. If you are subject to a hearing, you will receive a notice from the MVA with the date, time and location of your hearing.

Waldorf-Full Service
St. Charles Business Park
11 Industrial Park Drive
Waldorf, MD 20602

The MVA hearing is similar to going to court. Instead of making a decision on fines and jail time, however, the ALJ will be deciding whether you to get to keep your driving privileges, and under what conditions you will be permitted to drive. In Maryland, the MVA hearing is a records hearing. The officer is not typically present to testify in person. The licensee, however, may provide testimony if desired.

At the MVA hearing, the ALJ will take testimony and receive evidence and make decisions regarding the facts and the law in your particular case. There are set procedures that govern the conduct of these hearings. A Maryland DUI or DWI lawyer will be familiar with the procedures and regulations and can assist you during the hearing.

We really cannot advise anyone to try and handle their own MVA hearing after a DUI or DWI charge in Maryland. We are not just saying that to get more business. There are serious consequences to mishandling this hearing, and the outcome is totally based on the unique facts and circumstances of your particular case.

Depending on the facts and circumstances of your individual case, the MVA hearing can result in the loss of your driving privileges, a work-restricted license, or participation in the ignition interlock program.

Points for Serious Traffic Offenses

In Maryland, all serious traffic offenses are assessed points by the MVA. A Driving Under the Influence (DUI) conviction will result in twelve points being assessed against your Maryland drivers' license. A Driving While Impaired (DWI) conviction carries 8 points. Other violations carry varying amounts of points. Points stay on your driving record for three years, but the MVA will only consider points obtained in the previous two years when making a determination as to whether to suspend or revoke your license. Points on your record date from the violation, not the date you go to court.

If you receive more than five points on your Maryland driving record, the MVA will require you to enroll in a driver improvement program. If you receive more than eight points, your license will be suspended and if you receive more than twelve points, the MVA will revoke your license.

Our attorneys can assist you in taking steps that help mitigate the damage to your Maryland driving record and help you to maintain your license. All moving violations carry points. The number of points will depend on the severity of the violation. Our attorneys can sometimes help you to avoid points if you've been charged with a moving violation by obtaining a probation before judgment in court.

Restricted License

At your MVA hearing, the ALJ may grant you a restricted license. The restricted license is just what it sounds like. It allows you to drive, but with certain restrictions. For example, the judge may allow you to drive only to and from work or only to and from an alcohol treatment program.

Ignition Interlock Program

If you participate in the Maryland ignition interlock program, you will have a special device installed in your vehicle that you must blow into in prior to starting the vehicle. If your breath alcohol level exceeds the accepted level set on the device, your vehicle will not start.

Participants in the Ignition Interlock Program are responsible for all costs associated with program participation, including installation and monthly maintenance costs and the cost of obtaining a restricted driver's license.

Once you have the ignition interlock device installed and you obtain the restricted driver's license, you will be expected to return every 30 days to the Interlock Service Provider who installed the device. The provider will collect information captured by the device and forward that information to the MVA. The provider will also make sure the device is operating correctly.

Typically, the provider prepares a report for the MVA each month that includes information about:

• You the driver, your vehicle and other program information
• Any instances where you had a high blood alcohol concentration (BAC)
• Any instances where you tried to start the vehicle without taking the test
• Any instances where you failed the rolling retest or refused to take it
• Any bypass of the device, which is if you tampered with or disconnected the device
• The number of times your vehicle was started and stopped
• The distance traveled by your vehicle

Loss of Driving Privileges

If you accrue 12 points on your license, Maryland will revoke your driver's license for one year. It may be reinstated six months after the revocation takes place. A DUI conviction is a 12 point offense.

How An Attorney Can Help

At Andrews, Bongar, Starkey & Clagett, all consultations for all criminal matters are free of charge. You have nothing to lose by coming in and discussing your matter with one of our attorneys. At the very least, you need to find out your rights, and how the particular facts of your individual case affect the possible outcomes.

Our attorneys regularly handle Maryland DUI and DWI cases and have years of experience in this area of law.  We know the procedures of the MVA hearing, and what you can expect. We know what will happen in Court, and what you can expect there too.

You may have defenses available in your MVA hearing that you are not aware of. For instance, the officer may not have put in his report the reason that the traffic stop was initiated. The officer may not have followed proper procedures in advising you about your rights concerning the breath test. He may have disregarded your request to speak with an attorney. Or he could have committed other errors that can keep critical evidence out of your case.

When you hire us to represent you in a Maryland DUI or DWI case, we will meet with you and have a thorough discussion regarding the facts and circumstances of your particular case. We will gather information to make a determination as to whether you have been properly charged with a crime and whether the evidence supports those charges. We will then conduct discovery in which we obtain information from the State's Attorney to find out what evidence will be offered at trial. We will also request a hearing at the MVA for you and represent you at that hearing.

If you hire us to represent you on your Maryland DUI or DWI or other serious traffic case, we will work diligently to obtain the best possible result for your case at the MVA hearing and in court.

Everyone's case is unique. If you have been charged with a DWI, DUI or other serious traffic offense, you should speak to a lawyer who is experienced in this area as soon as possible after you are stopped. Your actions prior to court can have a big impact on what happens when you go to court. This is one area of law you definitely do not want to try and handle on your own.

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